Searching for Tomorrow
by Inspirationbynight
Summary: A monster is set loose purposely to get the Slayers' attention but the team is slowly being separated under their own noses. Don't do it! It's Gourry! Lina shouted.
1. Chapter 1

Attack

_Here's something I started a few weeks ago. Thanks to all those who review my fics. It's the kind of encouragement that it makes the time I spend on them worthwhile._

A scream cut through the air. The small village in the mountains in the north lay in near ruin. Out of nowhere it seemed a monster had come and broke into the nearest store. Not finding whatever it was, the monster broke down the door of the first house it saw and continued. It did not seem to be looking for anything but to destroy as it chased whatever moved and tore down what stood in its way.

Alyssa grabbed her younger sister and ran through the door, slamming it behind her. The monster followed, smashing the door into kindling. She panted, her heart pounding so loud she couldn't hear it any more and her skin so cold she could only feel the burning heat of her sister's small hand. She pushed her sister ahead of her into the room that was her mother's and closed the door. It resisted and it was all she could to do to keep from screaming that she pushed against the door with all her strength to keep the monster out. She managed to close it and immediately locked in one swift move.

The door held but only because she whispered a spell under her breath as she held the child to her chest. The child did not even whimper but clung to her tighter than ivy. They were all they had now. Someone distracted the monster because the pounding stopped and a cry followed. Alyssa stood, picking up her sister and ran out of the room, looking everywhere for the monster to avoid it. She paused inside the living room of the house next to hers. The wall had been smashed and the furniture, though it wasn't much, had been thrown everywhere and destroyed. What being was this that wished them so much harm?

She ran out the hole where the door had once been, panting. The rest of the village's inhabitants had fled or had tried before they were taken down. She dared not look down but ahead so that she wouldn't trip over someone. She shifted her sister on her hip to her front so that the small girl would not see the horror. There was an inhuman roar behind her a ways. At the sound, her maroon eyes widened and she pell-mell down the road. She skidded on the floor of the only tavern in the town and ran past the stairs to the closet room next to the kitchen.

She set her sister down and began to knock on the wood, literally. The tavern was one of four places tunnels were made to help the villagers escape in times of raids, and landslides. She finally found the trapdoor behind the brooms and buckets and pulled her sister to it.

"I want you to stay here," she said with a surprisingly calm voice. "You'll be safe. I promise."

Then the raven-black-haired girl sobbed. She clung to her sister's neck and refused to go down the dark passage alone. The beast roared again. Mother of All Things, was it tracking them? Why?

"Listen to me Kas," Alyssa said, pulling her sister away from her, "I can keep the monster away if you stay hidden and say spells where he can't see you. I'll keep this place safe but only if you help me by hiding."

Kas was at an age and it was during a time where she would believe such a thing if only to not be left alone. Quietly she climbed down the exit and stayed up just near enough the surface so that the door was a few inches above her head. She did just as her sister said and began to chant spells she made up and whatever she remembered her sister saying when she had used spells. It was a long and fitful night.

A vivacious and loud red-haired sorceress stopped with her companions at the entrance of a town that had recently seen a disaster. A sapphire-eyed teen with short black hair and an innocent but determined face gasped and pointed ahead of them. The three ran in but could do nothing once they saw that there was only ruin and apparently no one to punish. The stone-skinned male's grim face became grimmer. His pointed elflike ears twitched as he picked up noise further inside the village. He said as much to his friends and they followed him.

Alyssa and her sister froze when they saw the three travelers. Tears coursed down their cheeks and their eyes held fear and sorrow. The girl held her sister's hand tightly and moved in front of her protectively.

The smaller girl stepped forward slowly, arms raised up. "We mean no harm," she said sincerely. Diplomacy came to back her up. "We're travelers. My friends and I were looking for a town to rest in before continuing our search for a friend."

"There's nothing here," the elder girl said bitterly. "Everything was taken from us and destroyed last night."

"What happened?" the red-head asked, stepping up next to her younger friend.

"A monster happened," Alyssa told her, still keeping her sister behind her. The little girl peeked out from behind and looked at the male. She tugged at her sister's green skirt and pointed. Alyssa shook her head. "It wasn't him," she whispered.

The male in question raised a pebbled eyebrow but said nothing, arms crossed.

"Do you know who did this?" the sorceress asked.

Alyssa nodded, her shoulders trembling. "He was a monster. He had long yellow hair, protruding fangs, and burning eyes that glowed evilly." She could barely keep from sobbing. She doubted she would have been able to speak if her parents had died during the attack but disease and fever took them before hand. Still...the villagers were kind to her and helped her so much only to have this happen.

Alyssa suddenly found herself being embraced by the dark-haired girl and cried. Kas raised her arms to be carried, also crying. The three travelers found a house that was not as badly damaged as some of the others and sat down on stools and chairs they had gathered from the rooms upstairs and next door. When the sisters were calmer and Kas dozed in Alyssa's lap, they began introductions.

"Alyssa," Amelia began, "You should come with us. It's not safe for you or your sister here."

Alyssa shook her head. "Thank you, but what could we be of use to you?"

Lina tapped a gloved finger to her chin. "Can you cook?" Amelia gave her an incredulous look at which Lina sweat dropped.

"Yes," Alyssa said with a nod, "I can do a little bit of magic as well."

With very little discussion, Alyssa and Kassandra were made part of the group; at least until the sisters found a place they wanted to stay. With a shawl wrapped around Alyssa's shoulders and a blanket for Kassandra, the group set out to look for their former-mercenary friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Where's Gourry?

Somewhere miles away from where Lina and her party searched, heels clicked on marble floors down a dimly lit chamber and longs legs stopped in front of a chained figure.

"Next time, you will kill," said a silky feminine voice in a threatening manner. "You stalled this time but if you want your friends unharmed by my pets then you'll do as I say." The air was damp and chilly and there were no windows whatsoever. "Then again, it's only a matter of time before I catch that upstart Inverse and take her power for myself." There was a throaty laugh and the heels carrying the woman walked away, closing the metal door behind her.

The figure's head looked up once the woman--no beast, he thought--was gone and pulled at the chains that held his arms above him. They did little more than rattle and he hung limp and uncomfortable on the cold floor that had long ago numbed his legs.

"Lina..." he whispered into the darkness.

Outside it was daylight and he was exhausted. It took every bit of will power he had to only destroy property and knock the defenseless villagers out. The events of the night he was 'accidentally' taken, according to the woman who was just there, were still a blur to him. One thing he knew then as surely as he knew now was that Lina was the target. He had just gotten in the way and had been taken instead. Better him than Lina, he kept saying to himself, though he wasn't sure how long he could keep a conscious mind.

"Be careful Lina..."

"So you do all three kinds of magic?" Lina asked Alyssa as they walked down the road.

Alyssa nodded. "At first I didn't know that there were three kinds but a wandering practitioner noticed and taught me a few spells. That was a few years ago though."

They had been on the road for three days and finally reached the base of the mountain valley. Alyssa pointed out a covered dirt path that told them that it lead to a sister-village of hers. The other three followed her thinking of sleeping in beds and eating something they didn't have to hunt or fish. Kassandra walked, holding her sister's hand silently. The child of six had not said a word since Lina and the other two had come to their village the day after the nightmare. It bothered Lina and she had tried to be friendly and make funny faces but all that came out of it was having the girl hide behind her sister.

Amelia smiled at Kassandra and spoke her softly as they walked. Alyssa smiled gratefully at her and encouragingly at her sister. Kas took Amelia's hand with one and with the other held her green blanket with the other. By near dusk they were in the small village and were asking about an inn. Lina looked through her coin bag and recounted the coins for a second time. When traveling with Zelgadis and Amelia in company, Lina got two rooms even if it was just her and Gourry. Now with two extra...Alyssa stepped forward and talked to the inn keeper, a burly woman with a mean look.

While Lina and the others along with Kas sat down and ate, Alyssa went around and helped take orders and deliver food. To get a room for herself and her little sister, Alyssa struck a deal with the inn-keeper, who wasn't as mean-spirited as she looked. Kas watched her sister, ignoring the vegetables and cut-up beef on her plate. Lina ate with gusto but less frenzy than when Gourry was sitting right across from her and competing for shares.

Zelgadis looked at the child and said off handedly to her, "You should eat. You're sister is working to feed you give you a place to sleep and not eating your food is like saying you don't care that she's trying."

"Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said, "she's just a child. Please don't be hard on her."

But Kassandra picked up her fork and ate a diced potato without a word. The other two blinked with surprise. Lina kept shoveling food into her mouth and ordering third helpings.

"Miss Lina, if you have enough to pay for thirds you should have payed for a room for Alyssa and Kassandra," Amelia berated her. Lina flushed, pausing in her eating. "I offered but Alyssa said no. I wasn't going to push her."

"It's alright," Alyssa said, coming to pick up the dishes Lina was done with. "Really, I couldn't accept after you three practically took us in. I'll be back with your order Miss Lina." She smiled at Kassandra who was chewing on a slice of beef.

The inn closed at 12 rings of the village gong and a majority of customers had already left. Kassandra yawned but stayed at the table they had sat at during dinner. For the fifth time Alyssa came over to tell her sister to go to bed. Kassandra merely shook her head and rested her chin on the table. Alyssa apologized to Amelia who had remained with Kassandra and asked her to go to bed.

Amelia shook her head. "It's no trouble and you're almost done."

"Thank you so much."

In half an hour the inn-keeper dismissed Alyssa who carried her sleepy sister up to a spare room down the hall from Lina and Amelia's room. She was up early the next morning to help with breakfast preparations. By the time the others had woken up and were downstairs, the inn was slowly filling up. Halfway through their breakfast, Alyssa joined them.

"I went to your room this morning and got your sister," Amelia told Alyssa. Kassandra was finishing her pancakes beside Amelia. Alyssa smiled and gave her her thanks. "Where are you off to now?" she asked.

Lina pushed her plate back and smiled contently until she heard Alyssa's question. She looked pensive for a moment before answering. "First, we'll ask the people questions and then go from there. Someone's bound to have seen that jellyfish."

Alyssa tilted her head to the side and asked, "You're looking for a jellyfish? I thought you were looking for a friend."

Amelia smiled sheepishly as she stepped into the conversation. "It's a name Miss Lina gives to our friend but his name is Gourry. He's a swordsman and we got separated a few days before we came upon your village."

The mood went from a sleepy morning to a grim grey day until Lina smiled. "He's probably in an inn or in the forest having breakfast like us, wondering why it's taking us so long to find food." She stood and turned towards the door. "Let's hurry and find him before he gets eaten by a bear or something."

Zelgadis drained the last of his coffe before also standing and walking out after Lina. Alyssa looked at Amelia and asked, "She doesn't really think that about him, does she?"

Amelia shook her head. "Miss Lina isn't the type of person to be gloomy. She's upset but she'll try to not show it. Let's go."

"Sad," said a tiny voice.

Alyssa looked down at Kassandra in surprise. "What did you say Kas?"

"She spoke?" Amelia wondered.

Kas looked down at her brown shoes, tight lipped as the two girls tried to get her to talk. At last they had to give up for the moment when Lina popped her head back into the inn and shouted how slow they were. They went to all the shops and to the villagers to ask about a blond-haired swordsman in blue armor. Though they found nothing out, none of them were more disappointed than Lina though she did her best to only look annoyed. They left after a quick buy of supplies and headed south.

"We're retracing our steps," Lina informed the group. "The jelly-brain probably went in circles."

"What if he's not where we were last?" Amelia asked, knowing it was a possibility.

"He'll be there," Lina answered, going at a march, "if he knows what's good for him. We could have stopped five bandit groups by now if he hadn't taken off."

Alyssa walked beside Amelia and whispered, "Did he really wander off?"

Zelgadis glanced behind him and answered quietly, "Gourry didn't get lost. We were attacked."


	3. Chapter 3

Ill Met by Nightfall

"This time," the female said threateningly to Gourry, leading him on a chain to the balcony outside her room. It was a long drop looking down. "You will kill and lead Lina Inverse to me."

Gourry could not respond though he looked tortured. A war inside him raged as he lost to the poison that the evil woman had injected him with. He was slowly changing into a monster. Had the two girls survived? He wondered suddenly. The thought was pushed aside roughly. What girls?

"You…won't win," Gourry muttered. His teeth elongated painfully to enrage him all the more. "I'll warn them…and then…" but he couldn't finish. The dark woman slapped him a second time and glared coldly at him through lime-green eye shards.

"Try," she baited. "You'll never see her or your companions again. But the daylight should be plenty of company so long as you don't burn up." She traced the scar on his back which was hidden under his shirt lightly. He shuddered. It still hurt and her touch made it feel as if a hot iron rod was being pressed against the wound. What _had_ she done to him!

She chuckled darkly. "The moon is up and the prey is waiting. Go," she hissed.

Gourry leapt off the building, landing easily on the ground unscathed and ran towards the forest whish surrounded the area. He disappeared in the darkness but the crashing through the brambles and leaves could be heard by their echo.

Alyssa looked out into the dark sky in silent reflection of what had happened in the last week. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, she thought. But the one thing that had not changed was Kassandra's silence. She no longer looked at the chimera man with fear but instead with curiosity. Zelgadis didn't pay any mind or so anyone would think who didn't know him. He kept an eye on the little girl sparingly and was always close by unless Amelia had the girl with her.

Lina returned that evening with their meal and ate with still less gusto than she exhibited around their two new companions. She volunteered the first watch, going off to check the area though by now Alyssa knew it was Lina's way of saying she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Never had she heard the sorceress cry but the pain was evident to her.

Crash! A tree, a small one by the sound, fell not far from their camp. Amelia was awake in an instant and took a defensive pose on one side of Alyssa and Kassandra while Zelgadis took the other. Sword drawn, his navy blue eyes searched around for the source of the disturbance.

"That was Miss Lina!" Amelia exclaimed as an explosion reached their ears.

Zelgadis confirmed Amelia's claim as his ears picked up the sound of Lina casting a Flare Arrow. "Amelia, stay here," he said and went off to assist Lina.

Having no time to protest, Amelia snuffed out the embers of their former fire. "Hold on to me," she said to the other two girls. They complied silently and waited.

Another explosion and the excitement came their way. With a snarl, a fanged monster tore through the brush right towards the girls. Amelia quickly dispersed a Fireball she had learned from Lina and pulled the others away. Zelgadis and Lina weren't far behind as they shouted to not attack.

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked, barely dodging the swipe of lethal claws.

"It's Gourry!" Lina shouted.

Amelia rolled on the ground towards Lina and Zelgadis, looking at the fearful monster she had managed to escape. "Are you sure Miss Lina?" she asked.

Kassandra screamed. Zelgadis and the other two ran for the girls. Gourry, if it was Gourry, no longer looked like his former self. His armor gone, hair wild, face covered in soft fuzz and eyes that had lost their humanity. Claws outstretched, he prepared to take a swipe out of the two frozen girls before him.


	4. Chapter 4

A Clue! We're One Step Closer to Finding the Answer!

"Don't do it Gourry!" Lina yelled, plowing into him.

"Amelia, take them away from here!" Zelgadis ordered the princess.

The three girls ran, stumbling in the dark a few steps before Amelia cast a spell for light. Alyssa trembled, barely holding back her tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Amelia, I just froze. I tried to move but I couldn't."

"It's ok Alyssa, we all freeze sometimes," the dark-haired girl said as soothingly as she could while they ran. The light went out and they sat huddled against a broad tree. Kassandra cried into her sister's shirt, holding her in a death grip with her small hands.

"I have to go back and help," Amelia said after a moment, looking back at the direction they had come. "You'll be fine. Stay quiet and we'll come back for you."

Alyssa stammered but couldn't put the words together to stop Amelia from leaving them. "I'll be back," the princess promised with a light-hearted smile. She was scared too but she had traveled with Lina Inverse before and she knew they could expect anything when traveling with the infamous sorceress.

"Gourry, listen to me!" Lina shouted at the feral man. "You've got to snap out of it!" Wham! She took the hilt of her sword to the blonde cranium and he fell. Zelgadis had a small sweat drop on the side of his head as he approached the sorceress and their fallen comrade.

"We should take cover and follow him back to where he came from," the stone man suggested. Amelia came up to them, slightly panting and looked at Gourry on the ground.

Lina nodded. "That's what we'll do. I wanna find out who did this 'cause no one messes with Gourry but me!"

Amelia hung her head and pointed back to where she had left the sisters. "We can't leave them by themselves."

"It's too dangerous to take them with us," Zelgadis said, folding his arms in a final decision. "Gourry might go anywhere before he returns to the person who kidnapped him and they wouldn't be able to keep up."

Amelia looked up at him, knowing he was right but still stubborn in her decision. "Mr. Zelgadis, I know as well as you do that I wasn't always able to keep up whenever we traveled together but you gave me a chance. Kassandra is just a child but Alyssa can protect her."

"Like she did tonight?" Zelgadis asked none to polite in tone.

"I've frozen plenty of times Mr. Zelgadis," the princess retorted. "Not everyone has fought Mazouku Lords like we have."

"They've come with us this far," Lina said staring at Gourry's figure in contemplation. "And they seem to be a magnet for Gourry."

"What do you mean Miss Lina?" Amelia asked.

"During the whole thing, Gourry only kept trying to attack them. And you Amelia because you were with them."

Zelgadis rubbed his stone chin thoughtfully. "The older girl did say that they had been attacked by a monster when we first met them. Amelia, go get them. If she can identify Gourry as the same being..."

"Then they'll have to come with us if we want to find out who's behind this," Lina finished.

Amelia headed towards the girls while Lina and Zelgadis stayed with Gourry. When the three returned, Lina was sitting beside the transformed swordsman while Zelgadis blended in with the trees as a lookout.

"Alyssa, I have to know," Lina asked the oldest girl, "Is he the monster you said attacked your village?"

The girl looked at Gourry and nodded silently. No one said anything for the longest time but then Lina asked another question, "Did you have anything with you when the attack happened?"

Alyssa began to shake her head no when Kassandra tugged on her sleeve and pulled out a little pendant she had kept hidden under her shirt.

"But that's just a totem," Alyssa said softly, "We all had one in the village; Except I lost mine during the attack."

"A totem?" Zelgadis asked from the shadows. "I've read that the first villages made carvings to represent the gods as a way to tell all the stories. Some scholars said that a powerful totem made to represent a god could even summon him, like Shabranigdo."

"Except that we already beat him," Lina reminded him, "and totems are so rare….can I see it?"

"Kass, will you let Lina see your pretty totem? She'll give it back," Alyssa said to the little girl beside her.

The dark-haired child nodded and walked over to Lina, holding out her totem pendant.

"My village is—was a small one. It hadn't changed very much from the time that it came together and these totems have been in our village since before my grandmother's mother was born."

The three sorcerers came together under Lina's illumination to study the pendant which Kassandra had not let go of.

"Lina," Zelgadis said.

"Yeah, I know," responded the sorceress.

They both looked back at Gourry's unconscious face. Moving closer to him for study, the small group took in his features. The swordsman has soft down-hair all over his face which had become squarer since they had last seen him. Lina carefully move his long hair away from his face for a better look. His ears had become longer and wider, almost fanning out. His nose looked as if he had ironed it flat against his face and his hands were now webbed and claw-like.

Amelia gasped and took a step back. "Mr. Gourry….he looks like…"

"He looks like a bat," Zelgadis finished for the princess. "More precisely, he looks like the kid's totem."


	5. Chapter 5

Enter the House of Bats!

"Ok, this is what we're going to do," the young sorceress said once there had been a lengthy pause. She turned to the dark-haired villager. "I'm going to teach you a handy little spell Alyssa, and you and your sister are going to help us track the person behind this."

Alyssa blinked in surprise but nodded in agreement. "But, is he not the one responsible…"

Lina cut her off with a wave of her hand. "Gourry's too stupid to try anything on his own, let alone stay hidden from me."

"Ok, but then who…" the young villagers said but went unheard as the impatient red-head began instructing her on how to cast a Ray Wing.

When the transformed swordsman awoke, he was alone. For a brief moment the blonde man sat in his consciousness, wondering what new horror he had committed. He screamed and Zelgadis's stone grip on Lina was all that kept her from revealing their hiding spot.

_Return to me._ Gourry held his head in pain. His eyes glowed red when he opened them and all but the voice that commanded him was ignored.

Zelgadis released Lina and the three companions gave each other a silent nod of understanding before taking off into the night air. Alyssa watched them fly up several feet before holding on to her little sister and casting the new spell. Amelia turned back and watched the two while keeping an eye on the direction the others were going. She gave the girls thumbs up (swirl included) and stayed between the two groups as they followed their turned friend back to the source of their adventure.

Alyssa dipped and wobbled in the air but the gesture of encouragement from the princess helped her to focus on keeping up. When Lina and Zelgadis dove Amelia disappeared as well. Alyssa continued to follow where they had gone, wondering what had happened. Kassandra whined and held on to Alyssa's neck tightly.

"Alyssa!" Amelia shouted from up ahead. "Keep following. I think Mr. Gourry is trying to lose us!"

"That's comforting," Alyssa said to herself as she recast the Ray Wing. Patting her sister's back and whispering soothing words, the two slowly followed behind, keeping Amelia in sight.

Twice the group landed to cast Recovering spells on each other before continuing their search before Zelgadis pointed out a castle built into the stone face of a mountain. They were further north and the air grew chilly. Lina shivered on the inside. It wasn't the cold that bothered her but the familiar feeling of a mazuko in the area.

"Do you get the feeling I'm getting?" the chimera asked as they hovered in the air.

Lina nodded. "Yeah. We're going to have to think of a way to get the two girls in there without giving up the only lead we have." Her eyes narrowed with seriousness. "We still don't have all of the puzzle pieces but I'm not about to loose the most important piece." She flew down to the foot of the castle with Zelgadis coming after her. A minute later, Amelia in tow with Alyssa and Kassandra landed next to them.

Lina turned to the group, standing as tall as she could. "Alright, Amelia take Kassandra and go with Zelgadis. Alyssa, you're with me. We're going to find Gourry and finally see what this is all about."

"Behave and do as Amelia and Mr. Zelgadis say, ok Kas?" Alyssa kissed her sister's head and smiled before following Lina through the entrance and the left wing. Zelgadis glanced down at the child, feeling a tug on his cape and found her holding on to it like a security blanket.

Amelia smiled. "Aw, she likes you Mr. Zelgadis! Isn't that sweet?"

Zelgadis turned the opposite direction from Lina, saying nothing but unable to hold off a the tinge of pink that rose on the tips of his cheeks.

"Well, it looks like they've finally come," said a silky voice. A dark figure released a bat into the shadow-encompassed room. A few well-used candles flickered, the only light among several, small glowing eyes.

"Why don't you show them the way my pets?" the woman commanded. The room echoed with squeaks and dozens of flying rats exited the room, the sweeping of their wings extinguishing the candles. She turned on her heels, faint moonlight filtered from the crevices of the roof allowing the two people in the room to see each other. A turned up nose, pale skin, and ruby lips all frowned at the still lump in the corner. "You will give our guests a proper greeting this time and I will be watching."

A growl came from the corner.

The woman smiled coldly. "Yes, yes, you still want to resist. But the blood that now flows through your veins won't let you resist my orders any longer. Hahahahahahaa!!!!"


	6. Chapter 6

The Fight Begins! Kassandra or the pendant?

"Ahh!! What are they?" Amelia asked, shielding Kassandra from the flying forms harassing them.

"They're bats," Zelgadis responded, swing his sword in attempt to strike the creatures down. "There's too many of them, Amelia take the kid and run."

"But Mr. Zelgadis…." Amelia began but an usually large bat flew at her and cut her words off.

"Just go!" the stone man shouted, irritated at their situation.

Amelia ran holding the child's hand through a candle-lit corridor but the bats followed them anyway. Amelia pushed ahead into an empty chamber and crouched over the little girl, waiting for the claws and bites of the winged creatures. After several tense seconds Amelia opened his sapphire eyes and looked at Kassandra.

"What?" Amelia wondered, look up to where the silent girl was pointing. High above them bats were circling the barrel vault ceiling. Amelia watched them with a strange fascination. What were they waiting for?

"Amelia!" Zelgadis' voice rang through the empty room. He ran in, sword back in its sheath with a light orb hovering above him. The bats flew at him but stopped short and flew back up towards the ceiling in a panic. "Amelia, are you alright?" he asked her, keeping an eye on the large creatures.

The princess nodded. "They just started flying in a circle until you came in," she told him.

Zelgadis's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This doesn't look good," he said before a rumbling behind them told them that their only entrance had closed. "A trap!"

"That really isn't good," Amelia stated, looking around in the dark. She summoned a light orb to join Zelgadis's only to have the large bats scatter in the air above them in a frenzy.

Lina rubbed her head and checked on Alyssa, next to her. Seeing that they were both fine, the sorceress cast a light spell and looked around. It seemed that they were in a corridor after falling through a trap door. Somehow, those never failed to open up under her wherever she was.

"Which way do we go?" Alyssa asked, also casting a light spell.

"This way," Lina decided, going right. Some feet ahead they spotted a door. "Wait behind me," Lina told Alyssa and blew the door up.

Amelia and Zelgadis looked at the door in alarm then both had sweat drops by their hair when they saw their rash red-haired friend.

"Nice way to enter a trap," Zelgadis commented dryly. Kassandra ran from them and clutched onto her elder sister's pants.

"Thank goodness you're all right," Alyssa said, smoothing her sister's hair. She looked up and gasped. "They're enormous!"

A high laugh echoed in the chamber and the group's attention was drawn to the dark figure of a woman standing on a ledge. The flying bats made it even more difficult to see their host.

"Welcome to my home," came a sultry voice from the ledge. "I'm glad you all made it in one piece for my new pet to tear you apart." On cue, the pet joined the group on the ground, growling fiercely. Lina gasped though she knew something like this would happen. "Try whatever you want," the woman said from her hiding place, "He's under my control now."

"Why are you doing this to Mr. Gourry?' Amelia shouted, keeping an eye on their lost friend.

"You have something I want," the woman said simply, "aside from destroying Lina Inverse!"

"Why me?" Lina mumbled to herself as she tried to think of an exit. She glanced at the door she blew up and whispered to Alyssa. The girl shook her head and stayed in place.

"Enough dallying! Attack!"

Gourry charged at Amelia, claws outstretched only to be butted by Zelgadis.

"Gourry, fight that monster!" the stone man shouted, hand on sword but hesitant to pull it out.

"He can't be really gone, can he?" Amelia asked, reading to use a spell. She prayed inwardly that she wouldn't have to. For all of Gourry's faults he was a good person and one of her only three friends, five now counting the sisters.

Gourry let out a high pitched sonic scream that reverberated off the walls and sent the group on their knees. Alyssa covered Kassandra's ears, squeezing her eyes shut to concentrate on protecting her little sister.

"Stop!" shouted a little voice, though no one heard…except Gourry and the monster bats.

"What is this?!" the woman asked her minions. "Why have you stopped attacking?" The bats now clung to the high ceiling and remained motionless. After a moment, everyone else noticed something had gone in their favor. In fury, the woman jumped down to the ground and glared down at a docile Gourry. Now everyone could see the woman clearly and took up their guard. She had pale skin, dark disheveled hair, and red slitted-eyes.

"I should have guessed you were a mazukou," Lina said in disgust. They never failed to show up around her either.

The demon smiled and with a powerful swing of her thin arm she sent Gourry flying into the wall behind her. "Useless," she said. She turned back towards Lina and locked her eyes on the little girl behind her. "At last."

Almost too quick for them to see, the mazukou was beside Alyssa and snatched Kassandra from her. With a cold laugh, she held the bat totem in one hand and Kassandra over the ledge in the other.

"No! Don't let her go!" Alyssa shouted, running under her sister.

"Monster!" Zelgadis shouted, casting a Raywing and flying towards the child and woman.

"With this, I will destroy you all!" The totem pendant glowed softly then turned into a dark glow. The bats squeaked and began to fly about in frenzy again, aiming to hit Zelgadis and the others below. Gourry sat up and joined in the attack. Zelgadis was pelted with large bats and tumbled to ground, losing his concentration on the spell.

Alyssa fired a light spell above her head and it seemed to have stunned the bats. Just as she was about to tell the others, the bats began to attack in earnest, the light only infuriating them. Swords were slashing and parrying but it only wore Lina and Zelgadis out.

"Amelia, get to Alyssa and distract these flying rats for a bit!" Her sword took two bats down, "Zelgadis, hold of Gourry as long as you can," she took down another bat, "I'm going for the pendant."

With little time to insert an argument, Amelia shouted to the sorceress to be careful and made her way towards the defenseless new-mage. Zelgadis turned his sword towards Gourry and engaged him in battle.

"Alyssa! Cast another Light spell," the princess instructed as she cut her way towards her with her dagger. Alyssa raised her arm weakly, being severely scratched and bitten and cast a light orb into the air. With home slide, Amelia cast a temporary bubble barrier to cast Recovery on Alyssa. When Alyssa was healed enough to continue casting spells, the bubble burst.

"Get the pendant!" Alyssa shouted to Lina, who was flying straight above them. "Kassandra can control the bats!"

Amelia glanced at Alyssa before firing another Fire Ball at the bats. "Are you sure Alyssa?"

Alyssa cast a weak Fire Ball but it managed to burn the wings of a persistent bat. She answered, "The totem belongs to her, and except for that monster, anyone else wouldn't be able to use it,"another spell, " at least that's what the elders told us about the totems."

The mazukou laughed. "You want the girl?" She tossed Kassandra out into the air. "Try to save her now." Kassandra screamed.

_We are approaching the end, I hope all you readers have enjoyed it so far. Thank you to all who review. It lets me know that someone is reading what I write and liking it (I assume). It keeps me writing chapters because I know from those who review that you look forward to what happens next. Thanks again. _


	7. Chapter 7

"Noooo!!!" Alyssa cried out, watching her little sister sail through the air with bats going after her.

"You'll pay for that!" Lina shouted, firing a Ice Arrow at the bat mazukou. It hit her wrist and in pain released the totem.

"Kassandra!!" Alyssa screamed, tears falling from her eyes.

Lina narrowed her eyes. She grabbed the pendant and threw it towards the child, casting a Raywing right after. It all happened in one motion it seemed. Alyssa ran from Amelia's defense, Zelgadis knocked out Gourry sustaining damage himself, the bat mazukou transformed into a hideous creature with oversized teeth, the bats seemed to have frozen in mid flight, and Kassandra hovered a mere three feet from ground with the totem in her hand, glowing a soft yellow.

Then, as if it couldn't have gone any other way, the bat mazukou let out an ear piercing scream of agony and fizzled out of existence. Who but the smiling mazukou priest, Xellos, was left floating in the air behind the vanished bat demon.

"Well hello everyone," Xellos said cheerily, "I didn't think we would see each other so soon."

"Xellos?!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"What? Don't tell me you're not happy to see me," he said good-naturedly.

Lina held Kassandra until Alyssa took her and faced the trickster mazukou priest. "Alright Xellos, what's this all about?"

"It's quite simple really," Xellos said, "Scil was out of favor with Beast Master Zelas and I came to take care of her. I'm surprised to see all of you here, actually."

"What about what was happening just now?" Amelia asked, walking over towards Zelgadis.

"Hmmm?" Xellos wondered from his spot in the air.

"What did the totem pendant have to do with Beast Master?" Zelgadis asked, holding his side.

"Totem pendant?" Xellos cracked open an amethyst eye, sending a chill down everyone's spine. It was scary to see him do that because it rarely went well for the group afterwards.

With super speed, but slow enough for everyone to see him, Xellos regarded the two newcomers with mild interest.

"Are you the ones who have this pendant?" Xellos asked in a false kind voice.

Alyssa nodded, holding on tightly to Kassandra and glancing at the others for help. She was completely lost on the situation.

"Oh, what's your name little one?" Xellos asked, squatting down on the floor.

Kassandra pulled away from Alyssa and stood at eye level with Xellos. "She won't talk," Alyssa said, her voice shaking after everything that had happened. "She hasn't talked in over two months."

"Really?" Xellos asked, still 'looking' at the child. "But you can talk, you just don't have to if you don't need to, do you?"

Kassandra nodded, holding her totem in her hand.

"Can you show me what your totem can do?"

Kassandra pointed to the bats. "Shoo!" she said, waving her small hand at them. The bats dispersed, flying out of the room from wherever they could. Alyssa looked at her sister speechlessly.

"Mmmm, interesting," Xellos said, tapping his chin.

"What are you up to know Xellos?" Lina asked, closing in around the mazukou with the others.

"Why nothing Lina," he answered, standing up. "at least not now, you know I only follow orders and I'm done for today." He appeared above them in the air. "The child has something quite interesting but unless Beast Master or Mother says something, she can keep it. Well, I'll be off now…"

"Wait!" Lina shouted. "What about Gourry? How do we return him to normal?"

Xellos barely cast a 'glance' in Gourry's direction and shrugged. "Ask Scil, oh wait I killed her, oops!"

"Mr. Xellos, this is serious!" Amelia said. Xellos cringed inwardly. He knew she was about to go on a justice-and-good-for-all rant and he really didn't want to be gone longer than Beast Master had sent him out for.

He thought quickly. "Well, I suppose that totem pendant the child has would work, but most likely Scil bit poison into him. You'll need these ingredients." A piece of parchment floated down to them with a list on it.

"But that Scil said that Gourry was completely under her control," Zelgadis said.

Xellos waved an impatient hand at him. "Scil, as you probably guessed, is a low class mazukou. She'd like to think Gourry was completely under her control but I doubt he is. The poison is more like spell that makes the person more susceptible to physical and mental changes, but Gourry's safe from the later. He won't be in the best of shape but the sooner you can get the antidote in him, the faster he'll be his clueless self. Have fun now!" With a wave he disappeared, leaving the group alone.

"That didn't answer all of our questions," Amelia said, point out the obvious.

"Well the rest is pretty easy," Lina said. "Bat lady was out of favor with the Beast Master, so she decided to come after me to get back in favor. Most likely she decided to use Gourry to lure us here and finish me off."

"But what about the pendant?" Amelia asked.

"The pendant is powerful, we just saw that. Bat lady must have wanted it to be strong enough to beat me. Those bat monsters went crazy when she had it in her possession."

"Then they stopped attacking us when Kass had the pendant because she can control its powers," Alyssa said. She smiled in relief. "Thank you everyone, for saving us and for watching out for us before we got to this place."

"No problem Alyssa, just one more thing," Lina said, handing the list to the girl. "Think you can find the remaining ingredients?"

Alyssa nodded. "We'll have to ask for a few but I'm familiar with the others."

"Good, let's get out of here and head out in the morning."

Three weeks later….

"Yeah, so," Gourry gulped down another chicken leg, "that bat lady caught me by mistake. Turns out she was blind as a bat."

Everyone sweat dropped. Gourry continued to talk and eat. "She kept talking and talking and the second night, I figured it was because she couldn't see and had to talk to see where I was, even though she locked me up in the same place each time."

"Poor Mr. Gourry, alone in the dark all day and night," Amelia commented, filling up his mug.

"It was bad," Gourry agreed solemnly, pausing his eating. "All she had to eat was fruit and goats." Everyone face-faulted. "I've never eaten so much fruit or goat cheese in my life!"

Lina whacked him upside the head, fork in her hand. "Jellyfish brains, we were worried you were turning into a monster like her!"

Gourry rubbed his head, wincing. "Really Lina, you were worred?" he asked. Lina fought a blush on her cheeks but it soon turned into red of anger. "I don't really remember attacking you guys, sorry. It was like I would fall asleep and have weird dreams, then I would wake up and the lady would keep on talking. Ow!" Lina held her fist above him threateningly.

"Next time something like that happens, don't fall asleep!" she shouted and began to take his food.

Alyssa watched the two in silence, leaning towards Amelia and Zelgadis on the opposite side with a concerned look on her face. "Are they going to be alright?"

Amelia nodded and sipped her tea. "Oh it's fine. Mr. Gourry and Miss Lina are always like this. It's how they show they care," she said quietly.

Zelgadis smirked to himself. _They show something alright. _ "Hmm?" He looked to his side at Kass who was pulling on his shirt sleeve.

"Can I have a napkin?" she asked him softly, her voice still a bit gruff from being quiet the last three months.

Zelgadis saw the food fight was escalating and suggested to the others that they move to another table before they were kicked out. He grabbed a clean towel among the piling dishes and wiped Kassandra's cheek were mashed potatoes had stuck. "Clean the other side too," he said as they walked to another table. Kassandra took the napkin and did as he said. Alyssa and Amelia stifled giggles and pretended to be interested in the remains of their drink.

"So what will you do now Alyssa?" the princess asked her new friend. "I was thinking of inviting everyone back home with me. I'd like Daddy to meet my new friends and maybe you might decide to stay in Seiyruun."

Alyssa looked at the princess in surprise. "Really? Kassandra and I could stay with all of you a bit longer?"

Amelia nodded. Alyssa thanked her and gave the young princess a quick hug.

"You'll love it, it's a wonderful city. You'll be safe there, there's a large library in the palace, Daddy already had it fixed after one of Miss Lina's visits, the people are so kind…! You'll really like Alyssa," Amelia said excitedly.

"I can't wait," Alyssa said, joyful tears springing in her eyes but not falling. "I thought about going back to my village but I don't know if anyone will come back. Kass and I don't have any real family either and…I'd like to keep learning magic."

"Then to Seiyruun it is!" the red-headed sorceress declared, joining her friends at their new table. Gourry came up behind her with a plate of ham and other foods and nodded. "Let's stock up and head out!"

So off the group went to the city of white magic, another adventure left behind them and more than likely another adventure ahead of them. The search for tomorrow and what it may bring continues.


End file.
